It’s All About the Presentation

I love a beautiful cheese plate, I love it a bit more when I make it for my friends. In the camping group I belong to, Sisters on the Fly I am know for being the Sister who introduces many to the glorious flavors of  Mt Tam, Humboldt Fog, Triple Creme, Chèvre and many more. My key ingredients: soft cheese, hard cheese, dried fruits, fresh fruits, nuts, fresh herbs and good tasting crackers. Below I have everything broken down for you to successfully create a stunning cheese platter. Pictured is a bottle of Qupe Viognier wine, it has a light floral note along with a delicate peach and apricot taste which is perfect for all the flavors I have presented in this image.

Top Cheese Picks

Soft Cheese; Brie, Camembert, Chèvre (goat), Mozzarella, Cream Cheese. They are very soft, creamy and buttery in flavor.

Semi-Soft; Havarti, Munster, Fontina, Dorset. These cheeses have a soft earthy flavor they go very well with dried fruits and jams.

Medium-Hard; Gruyère, Gouda, Edam, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, Pecorino. These cheeses are sharp in flavor, low in moisture and have aged for a period of time.

Strong Flavor Soft Cheese; Blue, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and Stilton. These cheeses are salty, strong in flavor and tend to have a distinct musky odor.

Dried Fruits

I love dried fruit especially in the winter when everything is just about out of season. Turkish apricots, golden raisins, cranberries, dates and figs. If I have time I will take the dates, remove the pit and place a good dime size piece of gorgonzola cheese in them. That strong salty cheese is perfect for the sugary sweet date. If I really have some time I will wrap a piece of bacon around it and broil for about 15 min then drizzle with a good aged honey & fig balsamic vinegar.

Fresh Fruit

Sliced apples like Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp and Gala, are perfect for your cheese platter but make certain to follow this tip so they don’t turn brown when sliced. After you slice your apples place them in a bowl of cool honey water (2 c water & 1 Tbls of honey mixed well) for about 10 min then pat dry, they will not brown. Berries; raspberries, blueberries, strawberries. Grapes, my personal favorite are the Champagne grape, small and tiny clusters of very sweet grapes the size of a pea. Witches fingers taste amazing and look very much like a witches finger (kids love them). Figs; Brown Turkey, Celestial, Honey Fig, Desert King, White King and Red Italian. Melon; Cantaloupe, watermelon. Pears; Bosc, Asian, D’Anjou, Bartlett and Comice

Nuts

Pistachios from the Santa Barbara Pistachio Farm (we have them here in Texas!), seasoned pecans, almonds and if I can get them whole and walnuts. I place the walnuts in a bowl with some chopped rosemary, sea salt, cracked black pepper and I drizzle a bit of honey mix well and serve in a olive bowl.

Crackers

Water crackers, unflavored is my choice and they are the best serves with Brie cheese or your Blue cheeses. Herb toasts are perfect with Chèvre, multigrain are amazing with well aged cheddar and the crackers with dried fruits and nuts pair very well with Camembert.

Extras

Sometimes you need to fill in some space or make the plate look a bit dressed up, fresh herbs over flowers are my go to every time. I like rosemary, dill, parsley, thyme, chives and sage leaves.

 

2 Comments on Cheese Please!

    • Kate
      April 29, 2018 at 2:52 pm (6 years ago)
      Thank you so much! Reply

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